


watch

by lavenderpastels



Series: oneshots and other short stories [2]
Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, Life is shit but oh well, Light Angst, M/M, Newt got hurt a little, Newt plays guitar, Nobody Dies, Teresa is sweet, Thomas worries about everything, War, Worry, he also hates a lot of things, its the little things that count, minho is not a fan of pda, oh well, this is kinda depressing i guess but, thomas can cook
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-18 00:37:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19965847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderpastels/pseuds/lavenderpastels
Summary: an au based off the game "this war of mine"





	watch

Thomas watched.  
  
He watched out that same broken window, at that same, never changing, bleak sky stained by acrid smoke rising.   
  
He watched, but he was dreaming of somewhere else.  
  
Somewhere that wasn't ripped apart by war.  
  
Somewhere where the sun shined down on green grass and pristine streets.  
  
But all that was longing.  
  
In reality, he was standing in front of a stove he had built himself, cooking some less than satisfactory stew.   
  
Downstairs, the radio crackled and screeched as someone messed around with it.  
  
Out in the distance, gunshots puttered.  
  
And he hated it.  
  
"What's going on, Tommy?"

Okay, maybe he didn't hate all of it.

A pair of skinny arms wrapped in a leather jacket far too large snaked around his waist. Newt rested his chin on his shoulder.  
  
Newt was his rock, his ray of sunshine from those hopes and dreams that seemed impossible. His light in the cold darkness of the reality they were in.  
  
"Thinking."  
  
"What about?"  
  
"The war."  
  
Newt left it at that.   
  
Nobody liked talking about the war.  
  
"Stew's done. Could you call Minho and Teresa up?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Newt left the kitchen and Thomas poured the food into bowls and set them out for the others.   
  
"Thank god, I was getting really hungry." Minho announced dramatically as he walked in. He grabbed a bowl and began eating.   
  
Teresa followed and picked up her own bowl and took a spoonful. She gave Thomas a small smile.   
  
"Thanks, Tom."  
  
He nodded as Newt walked back in and took the last bowl.  
  
They ate in silence, standing in their small kitchen they had tried their best to clean up.  
  
"The radio said that there's been an increase of crime lately." Teresa said, setting down her bowl. "We'd better finish boarding up the house."  
  
Newt frowned. "Do we have enough stuff for that?"   
  
"I don't know."   
  
"Well, just to be sure, whoever goes out tonight can grab some shit. Whose turn is it?" Minho asked.  
  
"I think it's mine." Thomas said.  
  
And that was that.  
  
▪︎  
  
Night drew closer.  
  
Thomas stood at the work table, rummaging through their few belongings to see what he may need to take in his backpack.   
  
Newt sat with his legs folded under him on the nearby bed, watching him.  
  
"You be careful out there Tommy, y'hear me? I don't need you ending up dead."   
  
"I know, Newt."  
  
"I know you know, but I got to remind you."  
  
He paused and sighed, looking over at Newt. He bit his lip and sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"You be careful too, okay?"  
  
"I'm only in danger if someone breaks in."  
  
"Just be careful. I don't need you ending up dead either."  
  
Newt nodded.   
  
Thomas leaned forward and pressed his lips to Newt's before standing up. He slung the empty backpack over his shoulder.  
  
His heart ached.  
  
"See you in the morning. Love you."  
  
"Love you too, Tommy."  
  
▪︎  
  
Thomas sprinted through the ruined streets, praying nobody could hear him.  
  
He was on the way back to the house, backpack full of food, medicine and materials. He was quite proud of himself, after all, it was such a lucky haul, but his mind was only on Newt, Minho and Teresa.  
  
What if someone broke in? What if they were hurt? What if the house was shelled while he was away?  
  
Of course, these were typical worries, but something told him it was different tonight.  
  
Thomas chalked it up to his nerves.  
  
He made it back to their dilapidated house in one piece, relieved to see that the it was peaceful and had no visible damage.  
  
He knocked on the door before walking in.  
  
"I'm back!"  
  
Minho peeked out from the makeshift living room and smiled. "Hey man, we were just about to start making bets on if you died or not."  
  
"Ha ha, very funny. Any looters last night?"   
  
"Yeah, we fought 'em off. They didn't take anything."   
  
"Anyone get hurt?"  
  
He paused.  
  
Thomas’ heart sunk.  
  
"Newt did, but-"  
  
Before Minho could finish, Thomas slung off the backpack and ran to the basement. His mind was moving at a million miles a minute, thinking of the worst situations possible.   
  


Newt.   
  
Hurt.   
  
He leapt off the ladder before he had even made it all the way down.   
  
The radio was playing a station with classical music, screechy orchestras under static.   
  
Newt was laying on their bed, a book lying on his chest.   
  
His chest rose and fell slowly, and he was still.    
  
_ Oh god. _   
  
"Newt?"    
  
He sat up and glanced over. "Hi, Tommy."   
  
Thomas crossed over to the bed, almost tripping over his own feet.    
  
"Minho.. Minho said you got hurt and..."    
  


He blinked back the burning feeling behind his eyes.   
  
"Tommy, please take a breath." Newt laughed softly. "I got a little cut, that's all. I'm fine."    
  
To prove his point, he pulled up his sleeve to show a cut across his forearm that Thomas believed was not little.   
  
With shaking hands, Thomas took his arm and his fingers drifted over the injury.   
  
"You aren't fine, Newt, you need to bandage this up or go to the hospital. It'll get infected and then-"   
  
He took a deep breath.    
  
"I'm not using up a bandage or going to the hospital. Teresa looked at it and said I just have to be careful with it.”   
  
Thomas looked up at him, scared.   
  
"I'm fine, I promise." He kissed his forehead and pulled Thomas to his chest. "I promise."   
  
Thomas sighed and slipped his arms around his waist, burying his face in his shoulder.    
  
Newt.   
  
_ Safe _ .   
  
"What'd you find last night?"   
  
"I got some food, a couple medicine bottles and materials. I found a broken guitar too, but I think we'd be able to fix it up."   
  
"You did so good, Tommy. I'm proud of you."    
  
”Thanks, Newt.”   
  
▪︎   
  


"Ok, I think I've got it."    
  
Thomas stood at the work table, hands on his hips. He had finished fixing the guitar and was quite proud of his handiwork.    
  
He picked it up and handed it to Newt, who smiled and strummed carefully. He tuned it a bit before starting to play.   
  
It was an upbeat melody with a fast rhythm, Newt's fingers flying over the strings.   
  
As Newt began to sing, Thomas recognized the song immediately.   
  
It was the song Newt had played and sang to him when he asked him out for the first time.   
  
It had felt so long ago, like centuries but at the same time, it felt like only the day before.   
  
" _ I love everybody because I love you, when you stood up, walked away, barefoot and the grass where you lay left a bed in your shape, I looked over it and I ached. _ "   
  
Thomas pulled his legs up onto the bed and rested his chin in his hand. He watched him play and sing with a brilliant, genuine smile that he hadn't seen in so long.    
  


A smile that was unbothered by the horrors of war, unbothered by the conditions they survived in.   
  
" _I love everybody because I love you, I don't need the city and I don't need proof, all I need darling is a life in your shape, I picture it, soft, and I ache; look at you, strawberry blond._ "  
  
He stumbled over the chords after that last line and he chewed on his lip. "Sorry, I'd need to practice the rest a little more."   
  
"It's okay, it sounded amazing anyway."  
  
Newt's smile returned. "Thanks, Tommy."  
  
Thomas scooted closer and kissed him slowly. His hand moved up carded through Newt's hair.  
  
"God damn it, I came down here to see who was playing, but no, all I see is you two sucking each other's faces."  
  
They broke the kiss and Thomas looked over his shoulder to see Minho standing by the ladder with an exasperated expression.   
  
"Oh slim it, Min." Newt shot back.   
  


Minho stuck out his tongue and threw himself on one of the other beds.   
  
"Was that you playing, Newt?" Another voice asked.   
  


Teresa now stood by the ladder and she grinned.   
  
"That was me, yeah."   
  
"It sounded good."   
  
"Thanks."   
  
She took to the last bed, grabbing a book on her way there.    
  
Thomas wrapped his arms around Newt, Newt doing the same, and sighed.    
  
No doubt, he hated the war.    
  
He hated how everything seemed to be going to shit and the constant fear of one of them getting horribly injured or worse, killed.   
  
But there were things he didn't hate.   
  
The little things, like when Minho cracked jokes all day when he was in a good mood, or when they had enough ingredients to make stew that would last them a few days.    
  
When Teresa figured out how to turn herbs into medicine, or when they built the beds for the first time.    
  
When the radio gets good signal on the music station, or when they have enough materials to make something that isn't just for survival.    
  
When Newt held him and kissed him, or when they all talked about how great the future is gonna be once this is all over.    
  
Those things Thomas loved. Those things, he wouldn't trade them for anything.   
  
The little things made those dreams of a brighter, better place seem a little closer.    
  
The heaviness seem a little lighter.   
  
And made watching, a little easier.

**Author's Note:**

> the song newt plays is called strawberry blond, and its by mitski! i really reccommend checking it out!


End file.
